May 2018

My constituency staff team and I completed Dementia Friends training this week. The training is a one-hour session which gave us all a better understanding of the issues people living with dementia may face, using practical exercises and discussing some of the ways different types of dementia can affect the mind. You can arrange a Dementia Friends training session for …

Today I’ve written to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) together with supportive MPs calling on them to take action on banks charging extortionate fees for unarranged overdrafts. Whilst these fees are part of banks’ business models, they are almost always massively out of proportion with the actual overspend and hit people already in financial difficulty very hard. The Labour Party is committed to capping these unarranged fees. This is an important step towards protecting …

The Severn Tunnel will be closed between Saturday 16 June and Friday 6 July, impacting services between Bristol Parkway and Severn Tunnel Junction and between Filton Abbey Wood and Patchway. This will mean diversions and on some journeys coaches between Bristol Parkway and Newport. Network Rail have set up a dedicated webpage GWR.com/SouthWales2018 with information for customers. You can also find information …

I have joined a number of my Parliamentary colleagues in writing to the Prime Minister to ask that she stands up for the hardworking Sainsbury’s employees who are set to lose out because of unfair contract changes. Under the proposed changes, all employees will lose their paid breaks, there will be widespread cuts to premium pay including a shortening of …

This week I called on the Government to end the practice of charging children for British citizenship. I have signed an Early Day Motion calling on the Government to end the practice of charging a fee to children for registering for British citizenship. 6 years ago it was estimated that there were 120,000 undocumented children in the UK. Tens of thousands of them will have been born …

My constituency, Cardiff Central, has the fifth highest proportion of private renters of any constituency in the UK. Almost 37% of Cardiff Central constituents live in private rented accommodation. So the issue of unfair letting agency fees is never far from my mind. My constituency surgeries are frequently attended by people suffering at the hands of unscrupulous landlords and agents, who …

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I was pleased recently to visit Gassy’s Bar on Salisbury Road in Cathays to see behind the scenes of the £250,000 investment five months on from its re-launch. We are lucky to have such a vibrant mixture of pubs and bars in Cardiff Central – and I am pleased to see Stonegate investing in them. As a member of the All …

This week I have co-signed a letter by my Labour colleague Rupa Huq MP to new Home Secretary Sajid Javid. The letter asks him in his new role to continue the review which had been taking place into protests outside abortion clinics and the possible introduction of ‘buffer zones’ to enable women to access health care without fear of harassment.

Ahead of Christian Aid Week, I was pleased to attend an event in Parliament to find out about activities and events taking place during the charity’s annual fundraising week in Cardiff Central. Last year, an amazing £11,324 was raised in Cardiff Central during Christian Aid Week. This year Christian Aid Week is encouraging the British public to stand together with …